Saturday, August 12, 2006

Goodnight, Funnyman: Tribute to a Man I Vaguely Remember.

Was Mike Douglas funny? Hm. I don't remember. I liked his show as a kid, or portions of it, anyway. I didn't like when he sang, but I enjoyed seeing him interview my favorite TV stars. Strangely, the only person I can specifically recall watching on The Mike Douglas Showis David Brenner.

Here's an ad from TV Guide (eastern New York state edition), published the week of the moon landing, for his show airing on WNBF 12 out of Binghamton:I guess he's a "man among men" because he could display a number of facial expressions, running the gamut from smiling to not smiling. (No, I'm not mocking the man. This is a tribute. I am mocking the person who created that ad.) Here's another ad from a month later, with the show debuting on WCAX 3 out of Burlington, Vermont:I think they got his show confused with The Dating Game. I was going to put up some WCBS 2 ads from the seventies, but they usually just have a stock pic of Mike alongside a stock pic of, say, James Darren or Dom Deluise. By 1979 or so the ads might only feature a big photo of Loni Anderson with no Mike to be found. Then he got cancelled and started a new syndicated variety show in 1980 or '81 that was pretty much identical to his old show. That aired in the NYC area on WPIX 11, and debuted with a tiny ad that had no pictures at all. It lasted about a year. And, uh, that's what I remember about Mike Douglas.

Worst tribute ever.

Oh, also, Mike Douglas died on his birthday. Other notables who died on their birthdays include Ingrid Bergman, "Machine Gun" Kelly, Raphael, Betty Friedan, and, reportedly, Moses. ("Reportedly," as opposed to him telling me himself.)

Yes, fine, I know you don't care. This tribute is over! (The Man Out of Time has a better one, anyway...